Coakley names Ross head of business bureau

BOSTON – Robert Ross has been named chief of the Business and Labor Bureau, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week.

Ross most recently served as Senate President Therese Murray’s chief policy adviser and fills the vacancy left by Jennifer Stark after she was appointed to the Marlboro District Court.

In his work with the Senate president’s office, Ross oversaw the policy team responsible for developing a coherent agenda for each legislative session and coordinated the work of the Senate and its joint committees in developing initiatives, Coakley’s office said in a statement. Ross was also responsible for the development of numerous laws, including the economic-development reform of 2010 and the Green Communities Act of 2008.

Prior to his work with the Senate president’s office, Ross served as budget director and legal counsel for the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and as legal counsel to the Mass. Division of Insurance and State Rating Bureau. He has also worked at John Hancock Life Insurance Company in Boston.

The office said that Ross will lead a team helping to promote a healthy economy by balancing regulatory enforcement and review with advocacy for consumers, ratepayers and workers. •

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